This was an enjoyable Oolong from Upton.  The tea was flavorful, affordable and therefore an excellent value.  Utpon’s China Oolong Se Chung (ZO10) is an Oolong that has a tad bit more of a vegetal/green flavor, but it still has a solid natural sweetness and the floral notes are loud and pronounced.  I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this Oolong.  I enjoyed the slight greeness found in the Oolong.  If you follow your palate and standard steeping techniques (water temp 170-190 degrees for 3-5 minutes), you’ll get the most out of the leaves with a powerful scent and flavor.  The Oolong creates a silky smooth liquor.  The texture of the steeped tea rolls gently over your tongue.  With each sip you are left with a pleasing aftertaste.

Upton describes the tea as: A top grade of this lesser known style of China Oolong. Slightly green, with a woody aroma and flavor. A style served in Hong Kong Chinese restaurants. Oolong tea is also referred to as Wu-Long, or Black Dragon.

I’m not sure I could detect the woody aroma.  Nevertheless, it has a pleasing aroma and flavor that makes this an excellent choice.

Here’s a previous blog of mine regarding another variety of this Oolong: Osmanthus Oolong Se Chung

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This is an excellent, everyday, Chinese green tea.  The dried scent is oceanic with a slight sweetness and vegetal accent to it.  Wuyuan Ruikang Green is fun to drink.  It’s affordable, easy to make, and full of flavor.  To add to the quality of the product, it’s certified organic.  After steeping the tea in a water temperature of around 180 degrees for a couple of minutes, you’re left with a dark yellow infusion that is full of character.  I detect flavors of floral sweetness, a slightly salty bite, and a delicious vegetal (green) finish.  This is a green tea that most people will find enjoyable.  It has a lot of properties sometimes found in Chinese black tea and certain Oolongs.  I typically steeped the tea in a Gaiwan.  Typically, I made three infusions of the tea at a time.  The great thing about this tea is the fact that you can experiment and steep the tea to your flavor preference.  It’s difficult to mess up.

Upton describes the tea as: A full-flavored green tea with a sweet floral note and mild tartness. Overall, a very satisfying tea, priced for everyday consumption.

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-It’s important to try new things, and I haven’t had a tea flavored with Osmanthus flowers (I don’t think).  So, today I’m drinking an Osmanthus Oolong Se Chung from Upton.  Se Chung Oolong has a slightly shorter fermentation period than most Oolongs; therefore, it has more of a vegetal flavor.  I’ve had several teas flavored with Jasmine.  For the most part, I enjoyed them.  With any flavoring, the key is balance.  I don’t want to drink a tea that tastes like a scented candle.  I want to be able to appreciate the tea as well as the overall blend.  In this case, I want to taste the natural green-sweetness of the Oolong mixed with a fragrant mix of Osmanthus flowers.  This particular Oolong was much better than I expected.  Upton’s Se Chung Oolong has received favorable reviews from Upton’s customers; therefore, I assumed the osmanthus flavored version was a safe bet.

I found the osmanthus to have more of a spice-like quality about it.  It reminded me of a light-black pepper flavoring with only a hint of floral fragrance.  I was expecting it to taste very floral, but it actually added some attitude to the Oolong.  The Se Chung Oolong still shines through, but it’s kicked-up a notch with the osmanthus.  As you bring the tea close to your face to take a sip, your nose will pick-up the spice-like quality.  As your taste buds get to have their turn in the experience, you’ll enjoy the quality flavors of Oolong Se Chung.  There’s a faint floral flavor, it’s mainly all green-Oolong flavors.  If you want to try something slightly different from the norm, give this a shot.  I really enjoyed the one-two punch of peppery scent to flavorful Oolong.  This tea really works your senses.  The tea itself opens to reveal a healthy full leaf, and it creates a yellowish-brown liquor.  I typically steeped the tea with a water temperature around 190 degrees for at least 3 minutes.  You can experiment with multiple steeping.  I usually went up to 3 steepings.  Since I’m the only one that drinks tea in my house, that’s enough for me.

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I often try to find a reliable, affordable, and flavorful loose leaf tea to recommend to marTEA.com readers. Upton Tea Imports offers a blended tea called River Shannon Breakfast Tea. This tea steeps quickly and produces a dark, mild, and balanced cup of traditional black tea. Those of you that have graduated from the traditional tea bag to loose leaf tea, might enjoy this one a lot. I drink the tea without any additives, but if you like milk and sugar - this tea takes it quite well. The dried tea is nothing to brag about. It’s a simple broken leaf blended tea. The scent is quite refreshing and the body and flavor will help you wake up.

Upton Tea Imports describes the tea as: A blend of Tippy GFBOP Assam teas for strength, plus a distinctive, bright Ceylon tea for briskness.This Orthodox Process Irish Breakfast style tea is very flavorful. Reformulated with bolder and more uniform teas to produce a cleaner cup.

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Lapsang Souchong is one of my favorite morning teas. The intense smoky flavor is just what I need in the morning. If you are a coffee drinker, and you are looking to switch to tea, Lapsang Souchong is the perfect tea to help you make the change. This is the type of tea that you’ll either love or hate. In short, it tastes like a campfire - I’m serious. If the thought of pine-like smoke flavoring makes your skin crawl, don’t even bother with this one. Much like Pu-erh, Lapsang Souchong is all about attitude. If you can stand the first sip, you’ll love this tea to the end. Upton’s Lapsang Souchong Imperial is one of the best I’ve tried. I steep the tea using a water temp of about 210 degrees for just a few minutes.

Upton Tea Imports describes the tea as follows: The best China Lapsang Souchong we have found. To our knowledge we are the only importer of this grade of China Lapsang Souchong. Superior in flavor. Very smoky, yet quite mellow.

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One of my favorite Christmas gifts from last year was a Mothola Estate White Tea from Assam India. Assam is one of my favorite black teas. I wasn’t sure what to expect with an Assam white tea, but I assumed it would be good because of the history and experience Assam has with its malty black tea. I’m still not sold on CTC style Assam teas or any CTCs for that matter. Regardless, I was excited to try this tea.

From the start, I was impressed with the aroma of the dried tea leaves. It has a very refreshingly sweet scent. The leaves were long and healthy with great color. The tea comes to life as it is steeping. The leaves float effortlessly in the pot, as the water turns to a goldish-brown color. I let the tea steep for 5 minutes in 180F degree water. The flavor is the perfect mix of a traditional higher-grade white tea flavor with a sweet and malty accent. It is one of the best white teas I have tried to date. It’s simply exquisite. I highly recommend trying this tea. The tea was purchase from Upton Tea Imports.

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-Another BOP CTC style tea. I’ve had lots of practice with this tea, and I’ve started to learn how to tolerate it by adjusting my brewing technique. I didn’t include a picture with my last blog regarding Assam CTC BOP because it all looks the same. I can only describe it as looking similar to coffee grounds. The leaves are finely chopped and rolled together to form a tiny pellet like shape. To me, this makes loose tea about as exciting as the traditional tea bag. At least the tea bag doesn’t include the mess. I’m not impressed by the quick steeping times.

This particular, organically produced, Ceylon tea is from the Uva district in Sri Lanka. The Koslanda Estate was established in 1997. It is the home to over five hundred workers and their families. The tea estate uses the premiums from Fair Trade tea sales to better the quality of life for workers of the tea estate. The elevation of the tea estate is approximately 2200-3800 feet. As for the tea, it’s not my favorite, but it is certainly not bad. As long as you find the right combination between water temperature, amount of tea, and brewing time this tea can be enjoyable. The tea has a classic Orange Pekoe scent and flavor. It has enough body to be complimented with milk. I enjoy this tea plain. I’ve learned only one teaspoon per 10-12 ounces is sufficient. Also, a short brew time of 2 minutes is all it takes. Any more time, and the tea had an immediate bitter scent and flavor. If you purchase this tea, know you have to practice to get it to meet your expectations.

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My latest Pu-Erh was from Upton Tea Imports. It’s an organic black tea that Upton calls “China Ancient Pu-Erh – MAIDEN.” I have to say, the first time I tried Pu-Erh it took some getting used to. The earthy, almost mud-like, flavor is not something most of us experience everyday. However, this variety has the earthy tones that are usually present in Pu-Erh, but it is subtle with a freshness that makes it a solid black tea. If you’ve been hesitant to try Pu-Erh, but you want to give it a try, this is the one to try.

Maiden is said to be picked from select tea trees that are over 1,000 years old. This “earthy” black tea is from the Yunnan region of China. It is named after the county Pu’er. This variety of Pu-Erh is delicious and not offensive in any way. The liquor is as black as night with a silky texture that adds to the Pu-Erh experience. I found the tea to steep well in 212-degree water for about 6 minutes.

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